Developing a mobile app is exciting and frightening at the same time – it can help you earn money and fame, or your app may simply bomb on the app stores or fail to impress the targeted users. You need to consider multiple factors, and the cost factor is one of them. Cost is a critical aspect of the app development; to understand the costs, you need analysis, research and some understanding of the mobile app development process.

You can make an app expensive as you want, but what matters the most is the value of the services that your app is providing. The kind of app you are building, what you expect from the app development process, and the complexity level of you apps are the factors that will help you determine the amount that you can invest in the app, and the amount that your potential customer will be ready to pay for it. Let’s categorize the apps on the basis of their complexity:

Basic Apps – Such apps have just some basic functionality, and you do not need highly skilled developers to create them. These apps are the easiest to build. So, they don’t cost you much.

Intermediate and Slightly Complex Apps – These kind of apps have database management systems and may also use specific device or operating system features to provide a valuable service. For building such apps, you need competent developers. Such apps cannot be built in a matter of weeks – you need at least a couple of months to develop such apps. Most business apps falls in this category.

The most complex apps – These types of apps are the most difficult to develop and require expert mobile app developers. You may have a complex UI, 3D effects, special use of web services and unconventional ways of using the device and operating system features. Such apps can take 6-12 months to develop.

Key Factors that Affect the Cost of App Development

Without deciding the budget, you cannot go ahead. You need to make an estimate and become clear about the app you want to make, and the money you want to spend. Here, we will take a look at the basic factors that contribute to the cost of mobile app development.

# App Functionality

Make sure what you want to have in your app. It is one of the major cost-deciding factors. Think of the category it would come under and which kind of audience you want to attract. Apps that can be made for cheap usually do not offer too many functionalities.

# Developer Costs

You cannot even imagine developing the apps without mobile developers. Hiring developers is the most important task. Before you give them this job, you must scrutinize their capabilities. Because they will be completely responsible for the app performance. This is where you need to be little more cost conscious without quality compromising.

Depending on the kind of app you want, you need to find the right developer. A developer who has worked on mobile app development for just one year can build a basic app without any trouble. But you need more experienced developers for medium to complex apps. This can be expensive, depending on the complexity of the app you want to develop.

App Design

One other important factor you need to consider is app design. Basic utility apps do not require a special UI – developers can take care of it by adhering to the best practices of app development. But you need a good design for any premier app and for every game app. Entertainment apps also require special design. App designing is something that needs to be done perfectly in order to make an app successful. It includes app logo, tab icons, splash screen, and so on.

App Submission on App Store

When you are done with the app development, the next task is submitting your app. You have to pay for registering on the app stores where you are submitting your app. Once your app is live on app store, you can calculate its revenue. This is a standard, fixed cost.

App Promotion Expense

App marketing is now as important as app development. With over a million apps, Google Play as well as iTunes Store are places where apps can vanish into oblivion. If you do not promote your app, people may not find it themselves because there are plenty others. And not only just promote it, but once customers know about it, maintaining the visibility of the app will also require time, effort and money. For the marketing and promotion, the least you can do is hire a professional who can effectively leverage social media, or you can use your own skills.

Final Words
At the end of the day, depends on the kind of app you want to develop. There are lots of development firms, some will charge $1000 and others will charge $5000 for developing the same app. You must explore different companies and choose the one that can give you best returns on your investment. Just make sure that you don’t compromise on quality.